


Bloodstained

by Vandariel



Series: Vanadey Lavellan [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Antiva, Antivan Crows, Background story, Kinda like sibling, Other, Pre Inquisition, lavellan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:00:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26854861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vandariel/pseuds/Vandariel
Summary: Vanadey was a crow from Antiva before the Inquisition and was visited by her "adopted brother" and former trainer Zevran, who returned to her for other reasons after the victory against the dark spawn - Vanadey's mother has returned. But the family reunion was to be different than one would hope for.
Relationships: Zevran Arainai/Female Inquisitor, Zevran Arainai/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Vanadey Lavellan [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164071
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Bloodstained

The golden sun slowly faded into the sea of Antiva. From farther away, the lights of the lanterns were gradually shining, reflected in the shallow waves of the sea near the shore. Crows circled the old bell tower where two young elves were watching the view of the city and the sea. 

"Vany, here."

he said and handed her a crumb of bread. Vanadey nodded, drank the crumb in oil and saltleaned thoughtfully and leaned against the stone window arch. Zevran noticed how nervous she was - for once the usually so talkative elf didn't make a sound today, not even a peep. Her hands trembled slightly and she avoided to show any emotion. He slipped on his leather gloves and pulled them tight, moved his ankles and clenched his hand briefly into a fist. She noticed the extraordinary embroidery which she immediately noticed at first sight and tried to recognize the pattern. He caught her curious glance and chuckled up, proudly showing her the gloves and slowly twisting his wrist.

"These are my favorite gloves. When I was away I got these from Hero of Ferelden. They are beautiful and still smell of tanned leather." 

"From the Hero of Ferelden?" she asked and her eyes grew big in surprise.

"Someone's curious, huh? All day you were so quiet," he asked in his typical antivan accent and sniggered cunningly as he leaned forward in curiosity arching his brow.

"So what?!" she frowned tilting her head to the side and paused.

"I'm just nervous...I don't know if I want to see "her" at all. Knowing that she's back in Antiva...." she broke down and swallowed the last bite, with difficulty. Vanadey felt the inner anger eating her up again, her desire for revenge growing stronger. Her jugular vein was tense and her eyes glowed like topazes.

"You want to finish it - you've been telling yourself that for years. How small you were then...but the hot temper still remains." he continued to grin mischievously and leaned against the arch of the window with crossed arms relaxed at the back of his head. When she was a child, Vanadey could be very stubborn sometimes - Sometimes more than it it would be healthy to be. She threw a piece of bread at him and both laughed briefly. The laughter of the two faded quickly and Zevran prepared his blades as both saw the moon rising. 

"Are you ready?"

"Yes." She hesitated briefly.

"I want to get it over with."

she continued and glanced resolutely over to the Antivan elf. As former crows had very little time and were not allowed to stay long in Antiva - Zevran at least. The crows found out he is still alive and somewhat betrayed them. Vanadey was still more or less a member of the crows but she was never tied to them - a total exception. Back then she grew up with the crows and her master Nazir insisted on letting her go to see more of Thedas. For the elf with cherry red hair, Nazir was like a father to her and she was like a daughter to him - he wanted only the best for his little girl; he even made the fake Vallaslin possible at her request - even if it meant the death of one or two of the elfs. 

Like black cats, both elegantly descend the tower and hide in the dark shadows of the old walls of Antiva. The villagers were still awake, there was a public booth and the market only opened at night - if the temperatures were milder during the day, one or the other fruit stand opened already in the afternoon. Warm lights, the laughter of the children and the joyful traders enlivened the market district. 

Zevran covered his face and mouth with a dark green cotton cloth while Vanadey tipped over a light grey linen coat and put on the hood. They loved the marketplace but it would attract too much attention to throw themselves into the tumult. Slowly they crept through the dark alleys and were one with the shadows. Both approached a small hut not far from the marketplace. It looked abandoned and run-down; cracks formed in the wall and the windows were slightly rotten. There was a slight light and both stalked quietly to the window. On closer inspection she recognized a feminine, delicate silhouette. The woman wore her cherry red hair open and shone silky smooth. Her skin was caramel brown like Vanadeys. She stroked a striking ash blonde strand behind the elf's ear and sat down in front of a table. 

Vanadey was curious and slowly arose to see more details. The woman took out a small box and rubbed her ring finger in it which then moved over her lips. The chocolate brown lips were shiny so she rolled her lips together briefly to apply the color evenly. She was already holding her dagger in her hand, about to enter the window but Zevran held her hand as a warning. She found it difficult to control herself and she started to grind her teeth in a strained way. Suddenly the woman took a cloth bag and left the door open. Zevran quickly pulled the crow to him and led her around the corner of the house. They watched the woman run down the alley. 

"And now? Shit, she's going to the marketplace." she hoisted up quietly

"We'll just go where no one can see us," he joked and looked at the roof pagodas. They glanced at each other and nodded before both climbed up the wall of the house. From house to house, from roof to roof, they jumped gracefully and shallowly over the streets of Antivas with the woman in focus. They followed her inconspicuously and descended quietly from the ledge. Zevran knew the streets like the back of his hand and lifted a stone from the ground. Shortly before the woman took the turnoff, he threw the stone in the other direction to a dead end. Vanadey was less concerned about the inhabitants - they feared the crows and wanted nothing to do with them, so they only watched the attacks with a frightened eye.

The woman heard a clear clicking sound and ran into the alley, unsuspecting and with curiosity. "This is your chance. Now or never-" Zevran whispered to her and gave her his dagger. In curiosity, she looked up at him and took the dagger. 

He took the cover off his mouth and looked at her proudly. "It is yours. I know how often you have admired this one and now go! I will wait here."

"But Zev-"

"Hush- You have no time, sister." he smiled.

She quickly hugged him, nodded her approval and crept into the alley. The woman heard footsteps and turned around quickly. The petite figure of the same size in front of her was surrounded by a shadow and in panic she pressed the bag to herself. 

"Do you want money?! I-I have jewelry too," she stuttered and threw her gold bracelets on the ground in panic. The dagger in Vanadey's hand reflected for a moment and the woman's heart stopped in panic. Vanadey took off her hood, her look was frightening, soul-robbing and full of greed.

"You do not know me and I do not know you - but what difference does it make? You were the woman who gave birth to me and left me starving in the sewers. Why? Why do you come back to Antiva after all these years? You are not welcome here."

she declared in a dark, smokey voice and played with her finger on the tip of the blade while the woman froze in shock. 

"D-Daughter? I-"

""Daughter"?! You didn't even give me a name back then? That was me to you? An object?" she asked in disgust and gritted her teeth.

" I am Vanadey. And you?" she asked reproachfully and approached her producer - her mother.

"Malanna..is my name." she stuttered in a pause looking up to her daughter in anxiety.

"Vanadey? But you are my child - just look at yourself! We meet for the first time and ... and you want my death? I understand you are angry but-" she tried to calm her daughter and her eyes were watering in hope for staying alive.

"Your child? Are you serious? If I were your child, I wouldn't be standing here with a blade. The crows are my family. You - are just scum. You don't belong here." she said in a deep, almost obsessive voice, placing the blade on Malanna's pulsating artery.

"The crows?! The crows took you in? By the Maker-" she trembled and looked deep into Vanadey's golden glowing eyes.

"I want answers. Why?" she asked seriously and placed the dagger closer to her neck. 

"I was young, and your father--"

 **"HE IS NOT MY FATHER!"** she roared threateningly into her ear and bared her teeth. 

"Y-your producer he...he wanted to return to his clan but they didn't allow city elves. He and I...fled from our clan before and sought refuge in Antiva, wanted to start a new life. But it turned out to be a mistake and we wanted to go back to the Dalish."

"And since I was born in the town you could not take me with you?"

"Yes.

"Disgusting - You and your clan disgust me. I spied over other Dalish, they were more pleased about new members." she said outraged, and her anger grew bigger. She put the blade down and took a few steps back.

"Do you know how much I suffered? I almost died because of your selfishness! You are clearly scum. Is he still alive?" Vanadey asked and pulled up her upper lip in disgust.

"Yes...he is a slave in Tevinter," she said broken and looked away ashamed.

"The crows gave me a home. But this was not enough. I wanted a mother - one who would show me how to braid hair, how to make wreaths, how to dance - but you almost left me rotting." she hoisted and played again with her dagger, seeking revenge. 

"But why do you have a Vallaslin?! I do not understand."

"It was a bad decision. But a gift from my real father."

she laughed briefly. As a child she was so excited about the Vallaslins that she got one from Nazir for her 18th birthday. In return, one or the other Dalish had to fear for his life - either a fake Vallaslin or a massacre. He despises the Dalish but he did everything for his foster daughter to have a reasonably good childhood. During her youth her first love was a Dalish elf who left her for a Dalish elf - from that moment on she did not trust the clans anymore. Zevran kept watching from a safe distance and sensed that something was wrong. Quietly, he crept up to the house that crosses the cul-de-sac and climbed onto the roof unnoticed. Quietly, he took out poisoned needles from his leather bag and continued to observe the conversation.

"I too made a bad decision..." Vanadey's mother murmured quietly and quickly pulled a dagger from her robe. She ran towards her daughter and tried to ram it into her stomach. 

**"I should have thrown you into the sea that day!"** She cried out obsessively and carried out the attack hastily with an evil look. It was hard to overlook but the temperament and anger she definitely had from Malanna. Before Zevran wanted to throw out the needles spiked with poison, he saw his younger foster sister thwart the attack. Vanadey already sensed that her mother might fight back and elegantly turned to the side while she reached out with her right hand and cut her throat. She fell to her knees and gasped for air in horror. The look soaked in fear was what Vanadey had been longing for. She fell on her back and the blood flowed in streams on the gravel. The crow knelt beside her and watched as her birth mother suffered, gasping for breath in fear and trembling with dread. 

"I-I didn't wanted.." Malanna stuttered quietly 

"You have chosen death. Too bad, I still had some questions," she commented indifferently and watched her mother's last weak breath before she bled to death. She stood up and heard Zevran jumping off the ledge and patting himself.

"That used to be...a very theatrical performance," he noted and crossed his arms while looking at the body. 

"She was prepared from the beginning. Her bad acting betrayed her. I must find him - my revenge has not yet been satisfied." she hissed. Zevran understood that she wanted more, in her current state she was irrepressible. He walked towards her and grabbed her shoulder.

"Van' I know you want more but he has already received his punishment as a slave. I was like you then - unpredictable. But it's time to go. Immediately." he declared determinedly and took her by the hand. His gentle but dominant handshake led them out of the alley and both disappeared into the shadows. 

they ran in easy steps to the harbor where an old friend of Zevran's was already waiting for them. She straightened her pompous captain's hat and quickly waved her hand into the boat. "Zevran, it took forever, let's get on board, we're leaving," Isabela whispered in a low voice and the three entered the boat. Arriving at the deck, the elves sat down on the wooden deck and watched the boat move away from Antiva. Vanadey felt remorse for not having said goodbye to her foster father and sobbed softly observing the lights of Antiva fading. Zevran sat closer to her and asked her for his shoulder.

"Nazir will understand. He let you go, sometime you will return."

"Someday - yes. I'll try to send him a message as soon as we.... um...where are we actually going?" she asked curiously.

"To Ferelden my dear!" a strong, confident female voice resounded. Isabela was at the helm and the salty, fresh air blew through her curly raven-black hair. "I heard Zevran wanted to visit his old friends there, didn't you, Zev?" she asked and grinned.

Zevran nodded over to Isabela and laughed. "Van, you are no longer a crow - you are free. Like me." - "I was always free Zevran, but I never really wanted to go." she added sadly and continued to lean on his shoulder as the ship sailed through the night.


End file.
